Huskies Make 30th NCAA DebutUConn will host Siena in first round Sunday

Head Coach Len Tsantiris

Nov. 13, 2015

STORRS, Conn. - The Huskies will make their 30th NCAA tournament appearance on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium when they host Siena in the first round.

The American Athletic Conference regular season champs are currently 17-3 overall after going 16-2 in the regular season with 8-1 conference record. UConn went 1-1 in the conference tournament. After defeating East Carolina 3-1 in the quarterfinals, the top seeded Huskies were knocked in overtime of the semifinals by Cincinnati, who went on to win the conference championship.

Junior Rachel Hill (Rollinsford, N.H.) totaled six points in the post-season, notching two goals against the Pirates and one against the Bearcats. Freshman Kim Urbanek (Lonnerstadt, Germany) earned the assist on three of UConn's five goals in the tournament for a total of three points. Junior Maddie Damm (New Kingsford, R.I.) recorded the other goal against East Carolina and senior Liana Hinds (Hartford, Conn.) netted the second goal against Cincinnati in the semis.

Hill currently leads the team with 29 points (13g, 3a) followed by junior Stephanie Riberio (Pawtucket, R.I.) and senior Samantha McGuire (Fishkill, N.Y.) who are tied with 17 points. Junior goalkeeper Emily Armstrong (Collegeville, Pa.) has seen 1697 minutes in net for the Huskies, earning 19 starts, 69 saves and a 0.85 goals against average.

Siena (12-6-3, 5-4-1 MAAC) earned an automatic bid the NCAA tournament after it claimed the MAAC Championship title, defeating the No. 2 seed Manhattan, 5-2, on Sunday. The Saints went 3-0-1 at the end of the regular season to earn a spot in the conference tournament.

Siena went into the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed and made a historic run, defeating each of the top three seeds, Marist, Monmouth and Manhattan, to become the first No. 6 seed in MAAC history to take home the title.

This will mark the program's second NCAA appearance. The first time Siena earned a trip to the big dance was in 2010, when it clinched its first MAAC Championship. The Saints inaugural appearance in the NCAA tournament was cut short by Georgetown, who knocked out Siena 5-1 in the first round.

The Saints are currently led by sophomore Madison Vasquez, who stands atop the leader board with 16 points (7g, 2a), followed by freshman Meghan Riccardi with 14 points (4g, 6a) and junior Tara Sobieraiski with 11 (2g, 7a). Senior goalkeeper Liz Rogan has started in all 21 matches in net for Siena, recording 80 saves this season for a .792 save percentage and a 0.99 goals against average.

UConn and Siena have only met once prior to Sunday's match. The two came together on August 22, 2010 at Morrone Stadium and the Saints pulled out a 3-2 win in overtime.

The winner of Sunday's match will advance to round two and take on the winner of No. 3 seeded Notre Dame vs. Oakland on Friday, Nov. 20 in Piscataway, N.J.